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Ill at Ease
A collection of three new stories of the macabre, from Stephen Bacon, Mark West, and Neil Williams.
Taking the horror in the everyday, this features childhood memories, a seemingly idyllic English town and a car seat found in a skip—all perfectly normal, all leading to a point of horror.
Taking the horror in the everyday, this features childhood memories, a seemingly idyllic English town and a car seat found in a skip—all perfectly normal, all leading to a point of horror.
65 pages, ebook
First published June 17, 2011
9 people want to read
About the author
Mark West
67 books173 followersMark West was born in Northamptonshire in 1969. Writing stories since the age of eight, he discovered the small press in 1999 and since then, he’s published more than 90 stories in various publications around the world.
The Book Folks published his debut mainstream thriller DON’T GO BACK in February 2022. It was followed by WATCHING OVER YOU, THE HUNTER'S QUARRY, STILL WATERS RUN, A KILLER AMONGST US and WE WERE SEEN. His latest, TO SEE TOO MUCH, was published in November 2024. He is currently working on his next thriller novel.
His other works include:
Collections: “Strange Tales” (2003) and “Things We Leave Behind” (2017)
Horror Novels: “In The Rain With The Dead” (2005) and “Conjure” (2009)
Horror Chapbooks/Novelettes: “The Mill” (2011), “What Gets Left Behind” (2012), “The Goblin Glass” (2019) and “Mr Stix” (2019)
Horror Novellas: The Lost Film” (2015), “The Factory” (2016) and “The Exercise” (2021).
Dark Thriller Novellas: “Drive” (2014) and “Polly” (2017)
“Anatomy Of Death” (2013) was a Hersham Horror Books anthology edited by West.
Mark lives in Rothwell, with his wife Alison and their son, Matthew, where he is currently working on a new novel. He can be contacted via his website at www.markwest.org.uk
The Book Folks published his debut mainstream thriller DON’T GO BACK in February 2022. It was followed by WATCHING OVER YOU, THE HUNTER'S QUARRY, STILL WATERS RUN, A KILLER AMONGST US and WE WERE SEEN. His latest, TO SEE TOO MUCH, was published in November 2024. He is currently working on his next thriller novel.
His other works include:
Collections: “Strange Tales” (2003) and “Things We Leave Behind” (2017)
Horror Novels: “In The Rain With The Dead” (2005) and “Conjure” (2009)
Horror Chapbooks/Novelettes: “The Mill” (2011), “What Gets Left Behind” (2012), “The Goblin Glass” (2019) and “Mr Stix” (2019)
Horror Novellas: The Lost Film” (2015), “The Factory” (2016) and “The Exercise” (2021).
Dark Thriller Novellas: “Drive” (2014) and “Polly” (2017)
“Anatomy Of Death” (2013) was a Hersham Horror Books anthology edited by West.
Mark lives in Rothwell, with his wife Alison and their son, Matthew, where he is currently working on a new novel. He can be contacted via his website at www.markwest.org.uk
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 21, 2011
I always like to try and expand my reading horizons so, when offered, I jumped at the opportunity to read another short story collection. As I have said in the past I think that horror lends itself particularly well to the confines of the short story setting so I was keen to get reading. Ill at Ease contains three new stories of the macabre, each by a different author.
Waiting for Josh by Stephen Bacon – The first story follows a journalist, Pete Richards, as he travels from London to Scarborough. His life long friend is terminally ill after spending decades slowly drinking himself to death. Pete is forced to re-examine his childhood memories in an effort to discover the reason for his friend’s self-destructive behavior. The thing that struck me most about this story was how realistic and grounded it was. No flights of fancy, just a chilling secret and a guilty man’s desperate attempts to let the truth be heard.
Come See My House in The Pretty Town by Mark West – Another story that explores the bonds of friendship and what happens when they break apart. Two college friends catch up after many years apart. One of them appears to have the perfect life, but at what cost? With a deferential nod to The Wicker Man, this story started out all sweetness and light only to end on a particularly gruesome note. The final image will certainly stay with me for a while.
Closer Than You Think by Neil Williams – Unlike its predecessors this final story is the only one in the collection that features a supernatural element. A man picks up a second hand child’s care seat at the local tip. Soon afterward unexplained phenomena start to occur. There is a great build up in this story and you just know something terrible is going to happen. The author creates a palpable sense of dread that works well. I really like the idea that an inanimate object can be haunted, especially when it is something as innocuous as a car seat. If places can be haunted then why not objects too?
Overall Ill at Ease was a great little collection. I suppose, if I am honest, this is my only real issue. I wish that it were a bit longer. Weighing in at a scant thirty-eight pages all three authors prove themselves to be insightful storytellers. It would have been great to get another story from each of them. Perhaps if we’re lucky there will be an Ill at Ease 2? Looking at it in a more positive note, due to it’s size, it is very easy to rattle through the entire collection in one sitting.
Waiting for Josh by Stephen Bacon – The first story follows a journalist, Pete Richards, as he travels from London to Scarborough. His life long friend is terminally ill after spending decades slowly drinking himself to death. Pete is forced to re-examine his childhood memories in an effort to discover the reason for his friend’s self-destructive behavior. The thing that struck me most about this story was how realistic and grounded it was. No flights of fancy, just a chilling secret and a guilty man’s desperate attempts to let the truth be heard.
Come See My House in The Pretty Town by Mark West – Another story that explores the bonds of friendship and what happens when they break apart. Two college friends catch up after many years apart. One of them appears to have the perfect life, but at what cost? With a deferential nod to The Wicker Man, this story started out all sweetness and light only to end on a particularly gruesome note. The final image will certainly stay with me for a while.
Closer Than You Think by Neil Williams – Unlike its predecessors this final story is the only one in the collection that features a supernatural element. A man picks up a second hand child’s care seat at the local tip. Soon afterward unexplained phenomena start to occur. There is a great build up in this story and you just know something terrible is going to happen. The author creates a palpable sense of dread that works well. I really like the idea that an inanimate object can be haunted, especially when it is something as innocuous as a car seat. If places can be haunted then why not objects too?
Overall Ill at Ease was a great little collection. I suppose, if I am honest, this is my only real issue. I wish that it were a bit longer. Weighing in at a scant thirty-eight pages all three authors prove themselves to be insightful storytellers. It would have been great to get another story from each of them. Perhaps if we’re lucky there will be an Ill at Ease 2? Looking at it in a more positive note, due to it’s size, it is very easy to rattle through the entire collection in one sitting.
August 24, 2011
When a Stephen Bacon story is the weakest selection, you know it's a great collection.Warning contains scary ass clowns!
October 17, 2018
It was okay
The stories were a little slow moving. I wasn’t able to focus on reading the book because I was easily distracted by everything else. It didn’t really grab my attention.
The stories were a little slow moving. I wasn’t able to focus on reading the book because I was easily distracted by everything else. It didn’t really grab my attention.
January 12, 2012
Ill at Ease is a chapbook anthology of three horror stories, and the first title from Penman Press. The volume opens with ‘Waiting for Josh’ by Stephen Bacon, whose journalist narrator travels from London back to his home town of Scarborough when he hears that his childhood friend Dale is dying – and he wonders how the bright boy he knew became the burnt-out alcoholic that Dale is now. Though he’s increasingly frail, Dale has enough energy to point his friend in the direction of the old Landsmoor house; there, the protagonist finds that, though the building has gone to ruin, the father of the house still waits for his missing son Josh, and has done for 33 years – and so secrets start to be uncovered, and questions answered.
This is a very quiet piece, as befits a story about lives in stasis (not just those of Dale and Mr Landsmoor – seeing what has happened to them makes the narrator question whether he’s done the best for himself in life); perhaps it’s a little too quiet at times, as the atmosphere doesn’t always come through from Bacon’s prose as strongly as it might. But, the more I think about ‘Waiting for Josh’, the more I find to appreciate in it – such as the neat inversion of the haunted house motif, which sees Mr Landsmoor as the living ‘ghost’ haunting his own home (and, of course, haunted himself by the missing Josh).
Mark West’s ‘Come See My House in the Pretty Town’ also begins with its protagonist travelling from London to visit an old friend, but there the similarities end. The setting is not the rugged Yorkshire coast, but a picturesque hamlet in the south-west of England; David Willis has travelled there at the invitation of Simon Roberts, whom he hasn’t seen for eight years. Along with Simon’s wife and son, Kim and Billy, they visit a fair in the village; it gradually becomes clear, though, that not all is rosy, and that David and Kim may have had more of a past than Simon realises.
There’s a nicely unsettling feeling about this story, which comes from the contrast between the beauty of the village and the sinister aspects of the fair (such as its threatening clowns made up to look as though they have Chelsea smiles). Much of the weight of the story seems placed on the twist-in-the-tale ending, but West handles it well, and it’s amusing in a drily macabre way.
All three stories in Ill at Ease weave horror into the fabric of contemporary British life, but it’s perhaps the third – ‘Closer Than You Think’ by Neil Williams – which deals with the most everyday of circumstances. It starts at a rubbish tip, where Dave takes the opportunity to bring home the bright pink child’s car seat which the woman in the next vehicle was about to throw away – but Dave’s partner Debs is not impressed, and their daughter Katie is none too keen on the seat, either. It’s Dave, though, who starts to feel that there’s something menacing about the object.
Where Mark West’s story drew on the contrast between village and fair, Williams’ piece uses the ordinariness of its details – visiting the supermarket; rummaging around in the loft – as a counterpoint to its horror. Dave’s experiences start off as unsettling but small, easily explicable as tricks of the light or whatever; but become less easy to explain away as they escalate. That progression of the story is effectively built, and leads to an ending that has the cold sting of inevitability.
This is a very quiet piece, as befits a story about lives in stasis (not just those of Dale and Mr Landsmoor – seeing what has happened to them makes the narrator question whether he’s done the best for himself in life); perhaps it’s a little too quiet at times, as the atmosphere doesn’t always come through from Bacon’s prose as strongly as it might. But, the more I think about ‘Waiting for Josh’, the more I find to appreciate in it – such as the neat inversion of the haunted house motif, which sees Mr Landsmoor as the living ‘ghost’ haunting his own home (and, of course, haunted himself by the missing Josh).
Mark West’s ‘Come See My House in the Pretty Town’ also begins with its protagonist travelling from London to visit an old friend, but there the similarities end. The setting is not the rugged Yorkshire coast, but a picturesque hamlet in the south-west of England; David Willis has travelled there at the invitation of Simon Roberts, whom he hasn’t seen for eight years. Along with Simon’s wife and son, Kim and Billy, they visit a fair in the village; it gradually becomes clear, though, that not all is rosy, and that David and Kim may have had more of a past than Simon realises.
There’s a nicely unsettling feeling about this story, which comes from the contrast between the beauty of the village and the sinister aspects of the fair (such as its threatening clowns made up to look as though they have Chelsea smiles). Much of the weight of the story seems placed on the twist-in-the-tale ending, but West handles it well, and it’s amusing in a drily macabre way.
All three stories in Ill at Ease weave horror into the fabric of contemporary British life, but it’s perhaps the third – ‘Closer Than You Think’ by Neil Williams – which deals with the most everyday of circumstances. It starts at a rubbish tip, where Dave takes the opportunity to bring home the bright pink child’s car seat which the woman in the next vehicle was about to throw away – but Dave’s partner Debs is not impressed, and their daughter Katie is none too keen on the seat, either. It’s Dave, though, who starts to feel that there’s something menacing about the object.
Where Mark West’s story drew on the contrast between village and fair, Williams’ piece uses the ordinariness of its details – visiting the supermarket; rummaging around in the loft – as a counterpoint to its horror. Dave’s experiences start off as unsettling but small, easily explicable as tricks of the light or whatever; but become less easy to explain away as they escalate. That progression of the story is effectively built, and leads to an ending that has the cold sting of inevitability.
August 3, 2011
Penman Press present this eBook collection of three short horror stories from a talented trio of British horror writers. The title sums it up. These tales ooze with an askew feeling, where even the most ordinary of situations becomes alien and sinister: the essence of any good macabre fiction.
First to follow that vertigo-inducing cover is Stephen Bacon, and “Waiting for Josh” is one of his triumphs. Narrated by a man named Pete Richards, he revisits his hometown to see a dying childhood friend and discovers that there’s more to his lonely alcoholism than meets the eye. This author excels at first-person storytelling, and it works very well here, drawing us into the character’s mood and nostalgia as though it were our own. This also makes the chills more effective, and I defy anybody not to be moved by his haunting journey of guilt, loss and confronting horrible truths. This is poignant and mature writing, and I insist on a collection. Immediately.
Mark West maintains the standard with “Come See My House in the Pretty Town”. Here we meet David Willis, another man reconnecting with his past when he visits an old college friend who now lives the dream in a quaint country village. But as Mark West is writing this story, there’s to be no pleasure in the sunny, picture-postcard surroundings. Everything has a sinister edge, and he notches up the tension in small intriguing reveals about the character histories. When the real descent comes during a visit to the local fair, it’s a grim, breathless ride with a brilliant pay-off. Mark also scores extra for creating some truly scary clowns, whether they normally freak you out or not, and their first appearance is a simple but powerfully charged scene of lurking violence.
Although I wasn’t familiar with Neil Williams, he’s now a name I’ll remember. With “Closer than you Think” we meet Dave, an ordinary family man. When he spots a perfectly good car seat being abandoned at a rubbish tip by a strange, dull-eyed woman, he decides to take it home. But when he starts to use it for his young daughter, a series of strange and disturbing occurrences ensue. As the supernatural increases, the story becomes a tense family drama with some tight dialogue and oily, nightmarish scenes. Although it has less depth and more formula than the others, it’s a real one-sitting read that grips from the off and doesn’t let go. For me, the supernatural has to be really good to give me a chill – Gary McMahon and Paul Finch spring to mind – and I was happy to discover that Neil Williams also has the knack.
It might be a relatively short book, but “Ill at Ease” rises way above the mire. The theme of horror in the mundane is perfectly realised, mouldering constantly beneath the text and infusing it with a sour sensation of impending doom. It’s modern horror that understands subtlety, full of real characters and plenty of shivers. These three authors clearly take pride in their work, all writing with lucid, thoughtful prose, and the time and effort shows. As reader, there’s no jarring, no creases – just an effortless, entertaining read. With interesting author notes, it’s a great package and well worth a couple of quid. Highly recommended.
First to follow that vertigo-inducing cover is Stephen Bacon, and “Waiting for Josh” is one of his triumphs. Narrated by a man named Pete Richards, he revisits his hometown to see a dying childhood friend and discovers that there’s more to his lonely alcoholism than meets the eye. This author excels at first-person storytelling, and it works very well here, drawing us into the character’s mood and nostalgia as though it were our own. This also makes the chills more effective, and I defy anybody not to be moved by his haunting journey of guilt, loss and confronting horrible truths. This is poignant and mature writing, and I insist on a collection. Immediately.
Mark West maintains the standard with “Come See My House in the Pretty Town”. Here we meet David Willis, another man reconnecting with his past when he visits an old college friend who now lives the dream in a quaint country village. But as Mark West is writing this story, there’s to be no pleasure in the sunny, picture-postcard surroundings. Everything has a sinister edge, and he notches up the tension in small intriguing reveals about the character histories. When the real descent comes during a visit to the local fair, it’s a grim, breathless ride with a brilliant pay-off. Mark also scores extra for creating some truly scary clowns, whether they normally freak you out or not, and their first appearance is a simple but powerfully charged scene of lurking violence.
Although I wasn’t familiar with Neil Williams, he’s now a name I’ll remember. With “Closer than you Think” we meet Dave, an ordinary family man. When he spots a perfectly good car seat being abandoned at a rubbish tip by a strange, dull-eyed woman, he decides to take it home. But when he starts to use it for his young daughter, a series of strange and disturbing occurrences ensue. As the supernatural increases, the story becomes a tense family drama with some tight dialogue and oily, nightmarish scenes. Although it has less depth and more formula than the others, it’s a real one-sitting read that grips from the off and doesn’t let go. For me, the supernatural has to be really good to give me a chill – Gary McMahon and Paul Finch spring to mind – and I was happy to discover that Neil Williams also has the knack.
It might be a relatively short book, but “Ill at Ease” rises way above the mire. The theme of horror in the mundane is perfectly realised, mouldering constantly beneath the text and infusing it with a sour sensation of impending doom. It’s modern horror that understands subtlety, full of real characters and plenty of shivers. These three authors clearly take pride in their work, all writing with lucid, thoughtful prose, and the time and effort shows. As reader, there’s no jarring, no creases – just an effortless, entertaining read. With interesting author notes, it’s a great package and well worth a couple of quid. Highly recommended.
July 13, 2011
ill at ease Ebook Blurb: "Combining the talents of Stephen Bacon, Mark West and Neil Williams, "ill at ease" showcases three tales of the macabre. Childhood memories, a seemingly idyllic English town and a car seat found in a skip - all perfectly normal, on the surface at least. But underneath, darkness reaches out for the unwary."
"Waiting for Josh" by Stephen Bacon is an atmospheric tale about Pete Richards who returns home after far too many years to visit a dying friend. Pete's friend has now succumed to years of alcoholic abuse but why was he drinking? In this short story the guilt of the past comes back to haunt with a vengeance.
"Come See My House in the Pretty Town" by Mark West is another well written story about the past catching up with you. David Willis, visits a friend from University he hasn't seen in years. In the picturesque seaside town where David's friend lives with his family all is not what it seems and David is caught up in the middle of it. Oh, and at the risk of giving away a spoiler, I will never look at clowns the same way again.
Rounding off the collection is "Closer than you Think" by Neil Williams. Another well-written story about a young family caught up in the supernatural. Dave, the young father, must unravel what is haunting his family and why before it is too late.
ill at ease is a short, but very accomplished, collection by three U.K. horror writers who have a fine grasp and understanding of the genre. All three of the stories are enjoyable reads but, and this is my only real complaint, no sooner do you start reading the collection than you reach the end and are left wanting more ... maybe next time the publishers, PenMan Press, could publish two or three stories by each author.
"Waiting for Josh" by Stephen Bacon is an atmospheric tale about Pete Richards who returns home after far too many years to visit a dying friend. Pete's friend has now succumed to years of alcoholic abuse but why was he drinking? In this short story the guilt of the past comes back to haunt with a vengeance.
"Come See My House in the Pretty Town" by Mark West is another well written story about the past catching up with you. David Willis, visits a friend from University he hasn't seen in years. In the picturesque seaside town where David's friend lives with his family all is not what it seems and David is caught up in the middle of it. Oh, and at the risk of giving away a spoiler, I will never look at clowns the same way again.
Rounding off the collection is "Closer than you Think" by Neil Williams. Another well-written story about a young family caught up in the supernatural. Dave, the young father, must unravel what is haunting his family and why before it is too late.
ill at ease is a short, but very accomplished, collection by three U.K. horror writers who have a fine grasp and understanding of the genre. All three of the stories are enjoyable reads but, and this is my only real complaint, no sooner do you start reading the collection than you reach the end and are left wanting more ... maybe next time the publishers, PenMan Press, could publish two or three stories by each author.
January 2, 2012
Ill At Ease contains three stories by three different authors; the three stories are all dark and focus on the psychology of the protagonists; none end happily although only one seems to feature anything supernatural (depending on how you read it).
Stephen Bacon - 'Waiting For Josh'. A strong opener, this is a well-written story about a man returning to his childhood home town to see his ex-best friend, who is dying. Old secrets are revealed, Some really strong imagery and scenes; my only complaint was it was a tad predictable in places.
Mark West - 'Come See My House In The Pretty Town'. For me, the highlight of this collection - another old friends reunited story, but with a more sinister tone. With its small isolated English village setting, this is almost like The League Of Gentlemen played straight instead of for laughs. If you are afraid of clowns this will do nothing to help...
Neil Williams - 'Closer Than You Think'. A ghost story, or the tale of a man having a nervous breakdown accompanied by strange visions? You decide. Another good story, I particularly liked the way the horror seemed to take place in such mundane settings - supermarket car parks and rubbish tips.
There's also some interesting notes from each author, explaining the inspiration behind each story. Overall a strong collection, and one that will definitely lead me to explore further work from all three writers involved.
Stephen Bacon - 'Waiting For Josh'. A strong opener, this is a well-written story about a man returning to his childhood home town to see his ex-best friend, who is dying. Old secrets are revealed, Some really strong imagery and scenes; my only complaint was it was a tad predictable in places.
Mark West - 'Come See My House In The Pretty Town'. For me, the highlight of this collection - another old friends reunited story, but with a more sinister tone. With its small isolated English village setting, this is almost like The League Of Gentlemen played straight instead of for laughs. If you are afraid of clowns this will do nothing to help...
Neil Williams - 'Closer Than You Think'. A ghost story, or the tale of a man having a nervous breakdown accompanied by strange visions? You decide. Another good story, I particularly liked the way the horror seemed to take place in such mundane settings - supermarket car parks and rubbish tips.
There's also some interesting notes from each author, explaining the inspiration behind each story. Overall a strong collection, and one that will definitely lead me to explore further work from all three writers involved.
June 19, 2011
Ill at Ease is as collection of three short stories/novelettes by Mark West, Stephen Bacon and Neil Williams with a gorgeous, unsettling cover.
Stephen Bacon offers 'Waiting for Josh', a tale of long buried secrets and of returning home. Mark West's tale 'Come See My House In The Pretty Town' is a disturbing tale of betrayal, small towns and worst of all, clowns. While Neil Williams offers the incredibly creepy and poignant 'Closer Than You Think'.
Worth picking up if you like a slice of British horror.
Stephen Bacon offers 'Waiting for Josh', a tale of long buried secrets and of returning home. Mark West's tale 'Come See My House In The Pretty Town' is a disturbing tale of betrayal, small towns and worst of all, clowns. While Neil Williams offers the incredibly creepy and poignant 'Closer Than You Think'.
Worth picking up if you like a slice of British horror.
May 23, 2022
A co-operative anthology, written, edited and created by Stephen Bacon, Neil Williams and myself
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews